Soldier Pet
by Enide Dear
Summary: Zack tries to deal with life as a Soldier. Sephiroth is not amused


Title: Soldier Pets

Author: Enide Dear

Pairing: AngealxZack, implied SephirothxCloud

Rating: insane

**

Angeal looked up from his reports and Genesis from his Lovless copy as the door to their office was slammed open. Both raised their eyebrows in query as an extremely un-amused Sephiroth walked in, pulling a protesting and whining someone along by the scruff of his neck.

"I believe this is yours, Angeal." Sephiroth's voice was all ice as he threw the hapless Third Grade Soldier across the room to land in a pile in Angeal's knees.

"Puppy?" Angeal tried to breath as Zack clambered on to him; the youngster was getting stronger with each mako-shot and now all his usual enthusiasm had turned into fear. "Sephiroth, what have you done to the kid?!" He scowled as he caressed the whining youngster's spiky hair.

Sephiroth crossed his arms and glared back, not the slightest frightened by the cold mako stares directed at him.

"What have *I* done to *him*?! He attacked me in the corridor! Came rushing out of nowhere and tried to wresle me down. He's lucky I didn't just snap his neck."

"Zack, is that true?" Angeal didn't know what to believe. He'd never known Sephiroth to lie - in fact, he doubted the geneticly enhanced man had that much imagination at all - but he couldn't believe that Zack would attack the living legend. Even Genesis looked confused, his eyes darting from Zack to Sephiroth.

"I just thought he needed a hug!" Zack wailed distraught.

"What?" Angeal said stunned.

"What?" Genesis said amused.

"What?" Sephiroth said, completely taken off guard.

"Well, you know, he's always so stiff and uptight and I thought he just needed a hug, you know, to lighten up a bit…"

"You tried to *hug*Mr Snowcone over there?" Genesis looked like he'd burst out laughing any second.

"Zack…" Angeal sighed. This wasn't the first time Zack's puppy-like and seemingly completely unabashed enthusiasm got him into trouble, but really…even he should know better than that. If there was any person in the world that invited less to an assault of his personal area than Sephiroth, then Angeal sure hadn't met them.

But right now the living legend looked so confused and almost frightened that Angeal could almost understand Genesis wicked giggling. Sephiroth, however, ignored the red-head.

"Hug…me. Hug me? Why on Gaia would you do that?"

"Because…beacause…" Zack looked up, innocent, loving eyes meeting cold, confused cat green. It was a meeting of such extreme opposits that Angeal wasn't sure if the very fabric of reality could handle it. "Because I think you'd like it, if you tried."

"Look, puppy, Sephiroth isn't…." but before Angeal could start to explain that the General's view of physical contact was limited to either the harsh brutal once of hand-to-hand combat or the cold clinical once of the laboratorium, Zack started to cry again.

"He's doing it again!" Sephiroth stared at the crying youngsters with comething akin to distraught. "Make him stop, Angeal! He makes me feel like I've…I've…kicked a puppy, or something."

"I'm trying, Sephiroth…"

"You can make him stop yourself." Genesis' little smirk hadn't disappered. "In fact, I think you are the only one who can."

"How?" Sephiroth's green eyes narrowed; there were no love between him and the red-head.

"Give him a hug." Genesis shrugged with faked disintrest.

"I don't…" Sephiroth sighed. "Fine. Um. Zack?" Very awkwardly, the General held out his arms. "Come here."

With a squeal of delight, Zack rushed from Angeal to throw his arms around Sephiroth's waist, almost pushing him over in his eagerness. Sephiroth's eyes got huge at the contact and his arms flapped around uselessly.

"What do I do now?" he hissed in almost-panic.

Genesis was giggling hard enough that he almost fell of the chair.

"Put your arms around him and hug back," Angeal tried to keep back his own grin. He hadn't seen Sephiroth looked this scared since…well, never.

Very, very careful, as if the youngster could break or possibly start crying again, Sephiroth lowered his arms and hugged back. Zack squealed with delight adn Sephiroth almost jumped with fright.

Genesis was now biting his hand to stop the giggling.

"See?" Zacks shining eyes blinked up at the General. "I knew you'd like it!"

"Yes, well, um." Sephiroth didn't seem to know where to look or what to do. "Good…puppy. Are we done now?"

"Does this mean I can hug you again, if you want to?"

"No! No." Sephiroth seemed to realise that he was petting the youngester's spiky hair, because he was staring at his own gentle motion with somtehing akin to fascination. "You are Angeal's puppy. Go hug him. I'll…get myself my own pet."

"Awww…don't like puppy-dogs, Sephy?" Genesis wiped his red eyes.

"Actually," Sephiroth said with a very thoughtful look on his face, "I do prefer chocoboes…"


End file.
